Want better legislators? Pay them
Parents and teachers told us there is no such thing as a free lunch. They never knew about the dining habits of state legislators.
One rookie lobbyist at the Capitol for this 30-day legislative session has helped pay for four dinners for legislative committees. The lobbyist reluctantly expects to kick in for yet another legislative dinner as the session winds to a close this week.
The cost for the lobbyist has ranged from $70 to $300 a meal, depending on how large the committee was and how many other lobbyists were contributing.
Legislators never ask lobbyists to pay the tab. They don’t have to. Lobbyists go along to get along. Many of them believe that financing the gravy train for lawmakers is a cost of doing business. Lobbyists hope they will be remembered favorably when they pitch a proposal or ask lawmakers to kill a bill.
Of the state’s 112 legislators, one never accepts free meals.
He is Rep. Jim Dines, R-Albuquerque. Dines pays his own way, even when a group of legislators is being treated by lobbyists or an organization. Good man, that Dines. Other legislators view free meals as a perk for serving in a job that does not pay a base salary.
But legislators receive $164 a day for expenses when they are in session or on official business. They also can qualify for a pension that can be quite lucrative.
In full context, the benefits available to New Mexico legislators do not leave them in a pauper’s position.
That said, the absence of a base salary is old-fashioned stupidity. Only a select few can run for the Legislature under this system.
For instance, most 35-year-olds with a private-sector job cannot take off 30
or 60 days a year for a legislative session and then another few weeks for interim hearings.
The result is that the citizen Legislature has a lot of retirees, many of whom worked for the state, for school districts or in law enforcement. They have the time and the financial security to run.
Others still on the public payroll, including teachers and a school superintendent, are well-represented in the Legislature.
From the private sector, plenty of lawyers find the time to be state lawmakers. Twenty-two attorneys are serving in the Legislature this year.
But it is rare to find a nurse, a physician, a carpenter or a mechanic in this citizen Legislature. People in many professions lack the time or income to run for the job.
Many of the lawyers and public employees who run and win never face serious competition as incumbents. In fact, only a handful of legislative districts are competitive every election cycle.
With so few people able to serve, voters rarely get the best talent in legislative seats. The old guard that survives is quite comfortable enjoying free meals as part of a sort of club.
It is past time to junk the citizen Legislature that actually excludes most citizens.
Some people still romanticize about this system as though it were 1912, New Mexico’s first year of statehood, when a small group of men handled government business by holding a legislative session every two years.
New Mexico residents in 1964 realized that state government was sufficiently complex to require an annual legislative session. They voted to make that change.
The next step, long overdue, is to upgrade the quality of legislators by paying them a base salary.
A fair amount would be $50,000 a year. That is not quite double what a Santa Fe City Council member makes.
Having a reasonable base salary would allow people of every demographic group to run.
By expanding the pool of candidates and, more important, the pool of talent, New Mexico might get better lawmakers.
And perhaps salaried legislators would be shamed into paying for their own meals.
Some will say New Mexico cannot afford to add 112 legislators to the payroll. In truth, this is about priorities. Good legislators are essential for state government to be what it often is not — efficient, open and competent.
There are plenty of places to cut fat, starting with the job of lieutenant governor. That position pays $85,000 a year and the office drains another $447,000 annually.
By paying legislators and firing the lieutenant governor, New Mexico would march ahead.
Straight into the 21st century.